April 2009
57 posts
What Ex-Googler Aydin Senkut Can Teach You about... →
One Man’s Investing Wisdom
I recently came across an interview of Aydin Senkut. Senkut was a senior manager at Google when it went public; no doubt he came out of that process with some coins in his pocket. Money was obviously no longer an issue, so he decided to move on to new ventures — venture capital, that is.
Aydin Senkut launched his own VC firm, Felicis Ventures, without previous...
“i tried belonging
i stood dangerously close
i charmed a coin, with a flick of...”
– scarlet streamers - wise-foolery : 4
“Maybe mannequins are that lowest point of your Romantic Bell curve after which...”
– Snake Inc.
2 tags
“Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that’s why there are no signs of...”
Entrepreneurship Education will be key for... →
an entrepreneurship be learned? Likely so, finds the Global Education Initiative’s new report, Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs.
Moreover, entrepreneurship education will play an important role in developing the skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to create jobs, generate economic growth and advance human welfare on a global level. The report provides concrete recommendations...
“Whenever you see the word “Client” in something to do with building, you know...”
5 Predictions for the Future of Collaboration -The... →
How many of you use Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter? Do you believe that your ideas get stronger when you share them with others? Collaboration enables us to connect with experts and people with like-minded interests.
“There is a theory which states that if ever for any reason anyone discovers what...”
– Douglas Adams
(via spytap)
Persuasive design for sustainability →
There’s a difference between green engineering and green design. Green engineering reduces people’s ecological impact without requiring them to change their habits—for instance, replacing…
[via: decker]
“Marriage is an important part of getting ahead: lets people know you’re...”
– Ellerby ( Alec Baldwin ), The Departed
Why Entrepreneurs Don't Scale ? →
It’s a cliché to say that founders flounder, but unfortunately, that’s usually the case. Wild exceptions like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Michael Dell aside, executives who start a business or project fizzle more often than not once they’ve gotten their venture on its feet.
Entrepreneurs actually show their inability to switch to executive mode much earlier in the business development process...
“If you lie to the compiler, it will get its revenge”
– Henry Spencer
The New Internet Start-Up Boom: Get Rich Slow -... →
t’s time to stop whining. The economy might be melting down like a pat of butter on a hot Hummer roof, but for some people — you, maybe? — this could be a very good thing.
Here’s why. At no other time in recent history has it been easier or cheaper to start a new kind of company. Possibly a very profitable company. Let’s call these start-ups LILOs, for “a little in, a lot...
“It’s a fight against the idea that everything has to die when it doesn’t create...”
– Florian Kaps on saving Polaroid
Predicting Apophis' Earth Encounters in 2029 and... →
Upon its discovery in 2004, Apophis was briefly estimated to have a 2.7% chance of impacting the Earth in 2029. Additional measurements later showed there was no impact risk at that time from the 210-330 meter (690-1080 foot) diameter object, identified spectroscopically as an Sq type similar to LL chondritic meteorites. However, there will be a historically close approach to the Earth, estimated...
“The worst invention ever: tiny URLs. The link structure of the web is hidden in...”
– Oliver Widder
A Complete List of 100 Attributes of People Who... →
Here are one hundred characteristics and attributes of people who start companies—some born of experience, education or birth.
The $2 Trillion Question: Will Investors Buy the... →
The Obama administration has announced a vast effort to get up to $2 trillion in toxic assets off financial institutions’ books by offering taxpayer-backed loans to hedge funds and other investors that might buy them, trying to improve on earlier strategies that have failed to rekindle trading in securities backed by mortgages and other debt. The goal is to thaw the credit markets — to...
Germany Seeks to Position Itself for a Greener,...
Although the German economy has been hammered — like the rest of the world — by the global financial crisis, Europe’s largest economy also has areas of strength. German cities are competing to attract international business; innovation is thriving; clean energy initiatives are moving forward; and educational reform is helping make schools more responsive to future economic needs....
Did you know...
Michael Jordan having “retired,” with $40 million in endorsements, makes $178,100 a day, working or not. If he sleeps 7 hours a night, he makes $52,000 every night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head. If he goes to see a movie, it’ll cost him $7.00, but he’ll make $18,550 while he’s there. If he decides to have a 5-minute egg, he’ll make $618 while boiling it. He makes...
1 tag
“Three truths:
1. Google is a middleman made of software. It’s a very,...”
– Rough Type: Nicholas Carr’s Blog: Google in the middle
7 things no one tells you about raising Venture...
Signing a term sheet is only step one.
[ After all those cold calls, emails, meetings, you got your Termsheet! Good! Getting a term sheet is a significant milestone but if you think the process is smooth sailing after that, think again. Post-signing of the term sheet is when the real work begins!]
It might not be worth negotiating the finer points of the deal at the term sheet stage.
[ This...
10 Tips On Negotiating With VCs →
#Zero:
Don’t say “no” say “not now” when turning down alternate investors. Even when you sign a term sheet (or close on a round for that matter) you still want to keep the alternate investors loosely engaged. You never know when you might need to re-engage them.
3 tags
The Perils of Being a (Successful) Serial...
Succeeding as an entrepreneur comes with many benefits: heightened credibility, new skills, broader and deeper connections. However, once you’ve succeeded, are there any downsides you should worry about?
Noam Wasserman of HBS observed several new challenges faced by entrepreneurs who have succeeded. Among those challenges are the following:
Less driven to succeed? — Once...
1 tag
2 tags
the secret to surviving?
You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when youre sitting at the table.
Therell be time enough for countin when the dealin’s done.
On a warm summers evening on a train bound for nowhere,
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin out the...